Drones Deliver Safety, Efficiency Gains

Companies are finding more uses for unmanned aerial vehicles as drone technology and video analytics tools improve. A prime goal for BNSF Railway Co. and Allstate Corp., among other firms flying drones, is to keep employees out of dangerous situations during property inspections.

BNSF uses drones to inspect railway infrastructure, some high above land or built into the edges of mountains, freeing human inspectors from having to clamber over and under bridges. “Looking under a bridge with a drone – it’s much easier to do that,” said CIO Muru Murugappan. Inspectors want video to capture detail such as signs of steel degradation in places hard for a human to get to, for example …